AI helps recover complete text of Herculaneum scroll burnt by Mount Vesuvius

Lead

Researchers using artificial intelligence and advanced imaging have achieved the first complete reading of a closed Herculaneum scroll that was burnt to a crisp when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago, according to reports from The Guardian and the Jerusalem Post. The breakthrough marks a major step toward deciphering hundreds of ancient manuscripts found at Herculaneum, the Roman town destroyed along with Pompeii in the 79 CE disaster.

The scroll, named PHerc 1667, was virtually unwrapped and read without being physically unrolled. The work discusses Stoic philosophy on ethics, art, and human behavior, and dates to the second or late-third century BC, as reported by The Guardian. The Jerusalem Post described the achievement as the first complete reading of a closed Herculaneum scroll.

Coverage Comparison

The Guardian and the Jerusalem Post both reported the breakthrough, with similar framing that emphasized the role of AI and imaging technology in unlocking the secrets of the charred papyrus. The Guardian's coverage highlighted the virtual unwrapping of the scroll and its philosophical content, while the Jerusalem Post focused on the broader implications for the Vesuvius Challenge and the remaining unopened scrolls.

Both outlets quoted researchers and project founders, including Brent Seales, professor of computer science at the University of Kentucky and one of the founders of the Vesuvius Challenge. The Jerusalem Post also reported on the project's plans to release all data, code, and models online and to offer a new $1 million prize.

Key Claims

• The scroll was virtually unwrapped and read with AI, discussing Stoic philosophy on ethics, art, and human behavior, as reported by The Guardian.
• The scroll dates to the second or late-third century BC, according to The Guardian.
• The scroll is one of the oldest in a collection from Herculaneum, as reported by The Guardian.
• The Vesuvius Challenge was launched in 2023 as a global contest to read carbonized scrolls, according to The Guardian.
• The project has handed out hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes, as reported by The Guardian.
• The text refers to Chrysippus and his nephew Aristocreon, according to The Guardian.
• The Vesuvius Challenge will place all data, code, and models online, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
• A new $1 million prize will be offered for reading another scroll in full, according to the Jerusalem Post.
• Over 600 unopened scrolls remain to be scanned, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
• Large parts of the villa where the scrolls were found have yet to be excavated, according to the Jerusalem Post.
• The new material includes 70 columns of text from 'On Vices, Book 1', as reported by the Jerusalem Post.

Perspectives

Researchers and Project Founders

Brent Seales, professor of computer science at the University of Kentucky and one of the founders of the Vesuvius Challenge, expressed optimism about the future, saying, "Just a year ago it would have been crazy for any of us to believe that there would be a complete scroll read completely non-invasively with hundreds of columns of text." He added, "Today we have shown you that that is possible. I believe we're going to read every single one of the scrolls in the collection."

Papyrologists

Dr. Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at the University of Naples Federico II, commented on the significance of the achievement, saying, "We don't have the full scroll, but the surviving object was unwrapped and that's a very important result because it shows that we are able to unwrap these objects completely."